Much of the record-breaking devastation was caused by elevated temperatures on land and at sea. In a warming world, climate scientists say these disasters will only continue to become more severe.

Here are some of the year's worst natural disasters.

In October, Hurricane Michael became the strongest storm to ever hit the Florida Panhandle. It has since been linked to 60 deaths.

Gerald Herbert/AP

Hurricane Michael, which had sustained winds of 155 mph, is also the strongest hurricane to hit the continental US during the month of October. No other Category 4 storm has ever hit the Panhandle area.

Many residents did not receive an evacuation notice by phone. Jackie Rabbit, one of those residents, told Business Insider she got stuck in traffic on her way out of Paradise and had to escape on foot.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Rabbit said she could see flames engulfing the road and start coming toward her car.

"I was sitting in my car just screaming, waiting to die, but trying to tell myself, 'OK, it may not look like it to me, but I bet they have this under control,'" Rabbit told Business Insider. "'I just can't see that because I'm not a firefighter. I'm not an emergency personnel.'"

She found her burned car in a tow lot 11 days after leaving it and escaping Paradise on foot.

While the Woolsey Fire in California wasn’t record-breaking, it was one of the most shocking wildfires this year. The fire, which killed two people, pushed into wealthy areas of Malibu and destroyed many mansions by the water.

Wildfires also set records in Canada's British Columbia. About 5,020 square miles went up in flames during August, surpassing last year's record.

Ben Nelms/Reuters

More than 3,200 people evacuated because of the wildfires.

Scientists said the past two fire seasons have been so severe in part due to a lack of controlled burning, CBC reported. Firefighters have allowed potential fuels to build up in British Columbia, and climate change brought warmer weather and more lightning to the area.

A series of heat waves also produced all-time highs for temperatures in several countries.

The world's hottest-ever low temperature, 109 degrees Fahrenheit, was recorded on June 28 in Quriyat, Oman.

Kamran Jebreili/AP

Before this incident, there had never been a single location - anywhere in the world - that remained above 109 degrees for an entire day. The world's previous hottest low temperature was 107.4 degrees. It was reported in Oman as well, in June 2011.

Many areas have experienced severe droughts after record-low amounts of rainfall this year.

Meanwhile, cities like Baltimore experienced their wettest year on record.

Three people died in two separate incidents due to this year's floods in Baltimore. Some of the rain came in the aftermath of Hurricanes Florence and Michael.

Another natural disaster, the earthquake in Indonesia, killed at least 1,900 people and displaced thousands more. Though the earthquake and subsequent tsunami were not the worst to hit Indonesia, they made headlines for the destruction and the fact that early detection warning systems were not working before the tsunami hit.